NROTC participates in Notre Dame leadership conference

While the majority of Norwich students packed their bags to head home for the weeklong spring break, three Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) students and one NROTC staff member packed their bags and headed to the Burlington airport with work on their minds. 

"We picked one Marine option, one Navy option, and one MECEP (Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program) option to go," said Gunnery Sergeant Jamie

Tsang, assistant Marine office instructor. "I'm required to go to insure that the midshipmen arrive safely and participate in all the events, and I also sit in on the briefs to listen to what is being taught to them."

Tsang and the three students were headed to Notre Dame University for the school's annual Naval Leadership Weekend, held March 18 to 21. This was Notre Dame's fifteenth consecutive year holding the event, and Norwich's second consecutive year attending. 

"We've always been invited, we just never had the funds to go to it before," Tsang said. "It's worthwhile to the seniors who are about to commission to go out there and participate in this."

NROTC midshipmen from more than 50 colleges around the country participated in the leadership conference, where they learned and discussed issues "critical to their roles as future leaders in the Navy and Marine Corps," Tsang said. 

Ashley Sanford, 21, a senior biology major from Holden, Maine, said the leadership conference was an "opportunity to learn how other ROTC (units) run, gather information about our growing Naval and Marine forces, and continue to expand and develop my leadership skills."

According to Notre Dame University, the conference focused on ethics in the military and the role that junior officers play in maintaining the Navy values of honor, courage and commitment. This year's conference focused heavily on the future of international security.

"Speakers were mostly retired military and professors of Notre Dame who are experts in current events that are happening around the world. They spoke about various subjects on leadership and where the Navy and Marine Corps is heading in the future," Tsang said.

The participating Norwich midshipmen agreed the speakers were very powerful and left lasting impressions in molding their future careers as officers of the United States military.

"It was a great opportunity to learn a wide range of valuable information from experts in their fields and to discuss various leadership principles while applying them to potential real-life scenarios," said Jacob Nihart, 21, a senior criminal justice major from Milford, Conn.

According to Nihart, a speech given by Lt. General Dunford, commander of 1 MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force), was extremely "rare and valuable." Nihart said, "Having the chance to speak with him one-on-one was a real privilege."

Notre Dame organized the students' schedules, packing the day full with leadership information, lectures, group activities, leadership panels, exercises and all meals, according to Tsang.

"Students were given scenarios where they had to come up with a solution to a leadership problem by working in small groups," Tsang said. 

Sanford enjoyed working with the many students from schools around the country, but wished there were more seniors who participated. "I didn't like that there were very few seniors," she said.

The interaction with other perspectives and points of view, "Made us learn different approaches to situations and to think critically," Nihart said.

Working with their peers enabled the midshipmen to gain insight to diversified points of view through others across the country.

"The main benefit is for the students to see different perspectives of leadership through various officers as well as gain insight into other midshipmen's ideas, what they think about leadership, and how they can develop into good leaders," Tsang said.

Both Sanford and Nihart felt the conference will help them in the future, and that other students who are able to participate in the event will benefit from the opportunity.

Within a couple of months after returning, Sanford and Nihart are required to give a presentation of what they learned to the rest of the battalion.

"I hope we continue to participate this in the future, because it's a great opportunity and definitely worthwhile," Tsang said.

Adam Bradford, the MECEP that was chosen to go, had no comment.